Tempted (Book 5) The Brazil Werewolf Series

Chapter Seven/I Do

My mother sat with me on the bed that was no longer mine in a home where I no longer lived. My life was being ripped from me by my own choice and there was something that kept me from stopping it. Luca's pleas replayed in my mind and I realized exactly why I was doing this. Though I barely knew him, I did not want to be responsible for his pain. As crazy as it was, I wanted to save him from it.

My mother's eyes moved over my face threatening to drop the tears which rested within them. Her chest rose and fell, stuttering and threatening to push a sob from her lips. She reached forward and grabbed my hand rubbing the top with the tip of her thumb as she often had throughout my life and I realized that she was trying to save me in much the same way as I wanted to save Luca. The problem she faced was that she couldn't save me from myself.

"Are you sure?" She asked a little above a whisper. She had asked the same question at least a dozen times since that morning. "If you aren't sure, we can leave. We'll leave tonight."

"I'm sure, Mom," I said with a sigh as I put my free hand over our clasped ones, hoping the action would calm her worry. "I realize I can leave but I don't want to."

She blinked and a tear fell down her cheek leaving a jagged trail to her chin. "I'm worried," she said and took a shaky breath. "I want you to have a husband who loves you like your father loves me. I'm not sure Luca will do that. He's been so cold since our arrival."

Swallowing, I tried to dispel the bitterness the statement elicited. "Did dad love you as he does now when you first married?" I asked raising my chin as I stared into her eyes.

"No," she said after a few moments of silence. She blinked another tear from her eye. "But we were friends."

"Luca is my friend," I said and for once, it was the truth. We had forged a rough , unsteady friendship over the past few hours. "I realize it had a rocky start but we are friends now."

She nodded as her shoulders drooped and her breath shuttered from her again. "I don't want you to regret this when there was a way for you not to do it."

I patted her hand and laughed. "The only thing I regret at the moment is I don't have a beautiful dress to wear at my wedding."

My mother's eyes widened and a smile stretched across her face. "Then, I will make sure you won't regret that," she said rising and pulling me with her to her room. "We stopped in front of her closet. She opened it and pulled a dress bag from the back and handed it to me.

I unzipped the bag and gasped as I found a white a-line dress with a scoop neckline. Applique white dots covered the bodice. The skirt was a little above knee length and made of lace. It was perfect.

"How?" I asked raising my eyes to my mom's face.

"Do you remember when I used to sew dresses for brides or prom for extra money?" She asked her eyes shining.

I nodded glancing from her to the dress. "When I was twelve," I whispered.

"There was a bride who was having a casual wedding," she said and then, winced. "But her groom left her three days before she was to pick this up. She paid me and then, told me to keep the dress. She didn't want it when it would only remind her of him."

I stared at the dress. It was fitting that I would wear a jilted bride's dress especially since Luca left someone he loved for our marriage. I touched the lace and nodded.

"It's perfect," I whispered, hoping my sudden melancholy would not give away my unease.

"You should try it on," my mother said with a smile. "I'm sure it will fit but it's always nice to make sure."